We all know that Google is currently working on the next Android iteration, Android N. The first developer preview is already out months ahead of Google annual I/O event and this means that we should expect the public release later in the year.
One new thing that Android N will bring to the platform is support for pressure-sensitive displays. This is similar to what Apple has done with 3D Touch feature on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. Including this feature in the OS will make it easier and more affordable for manufacturer to include this feature on their devices.
Phandroid has even released a video to show how this feature can be implemented in Android N which will be known as Android 7.0. check out the video below.
[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M2ev31sX8s” width=”560″ height=”315″]
Support for pressure sensitive displays on Android N will allow users to do a lot of things with their devices including:
Navigating users to a particular location in a mapping app.
Sending messages to a friend in a communication app.
Playing the next episode of a TV show in a media app.
Loading the last save point in a gaming app.
The Verge also spoke to Google about this and the company said that the decision to include support for pressure-sensitive display into the OS is a response to requests by Android manufactures. It seems like manufactures want support for this and some manufacturer such as Huawei couldn’t wait and already have the feature on some of its devices which include the Huawei Mate S and the recently announced Huawei P9.
Am personally excited to see this feature embedded into Android even though we may not be seeing it in all devices just yet. It will take time before everyone is able to enjoy this feature. This is especially so for phones from manufacturers who target the low end market segment. Some of these manufacturers have not yet released a device powered by Android Marshmallow so you clearly know that they are not that quick with new OS versions and they will not be the first ones to have pressure sensitive touch on their devices.
Read: Android Distribution: Marshmallow is Installed in 4.6% of All Android Devices